Across Space and Time
by Joe'saninja
Summary: Hayley is your average manga loving girl. Her problem: bullies. So In order to get away, she transfers to a boarding school. This school is no ordinary school and Hayley soon finds out. Now she has to live side by side with her favorite manga characters, help them with their social problems and save the school all while learning that love at first sight isn't so far fetched.
1. A Long School Year

**Hey there! so I did some editing to the first four chapters to the story. I hope to continue with it and improve it! **

Chapter 1

_A Long Year Ahead_

It was supposed to be just a regular transfer to get away from the craziness of my life. "You can transfer to a new school!" she said. "It will be fun!" she said. So how the hell, pray tell, did I end up here in a boarding school protecting someone from bullies and making me the number one enemy of the popular kids? Oh and to top it all off, they are all, somehow, anime characters. I'm not saying look alikes. I mean they are the characters! THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE REAL! *sigh*. This . . . is going to be a long school year.

~ Some time before~

"Hayley, I'm glad to see you up. Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Hayley looked up to see her cousin sitting at the table in the kitchen. The room was a bright and cheery place with light blue paint on the walls and white cabinets. Sitting under the window across from the sink was a table of tan wood with matching chairs. It had that homey feeling to it.

"Yeah Jordan, I would like that. Can I have some tea too?" Her cousin gave her the biggest, most emotionally filled smile. She was so happy to see her younger cousin up and eating. After 'the incident', Hayley never came out of her room much less ask for something.

Hayley, unlike many others in her family was a red head with blue eyes. Most of her family had a dark, rich, brown hair. He cousin had told her that red heads popped up from time to time in the family do to our Scottish and Irish heritage. Their cousin and grandmother are both red heads as well. It was the red hair and the fiery/temper attitude that ran in the family. All the women had the attitude/ temper.

She also had pale skin that no matter what she did, never tanned. It would only turn red then go back to white. It was one of the reasons she never felt as pretty as other girls. It was just one of the things that people would bully her for. _He_ said it was pretty until. . .

Jordan notice the depressed look on her face. "Come on. Tell your old godmother what you're thinking." She gave the girl a reassuring smile. That's right, Jordan was made Hayley's godmother when she was born. Her, her uncle, and aunt, Hayley's father and mother, were very close. Around the time she was five, Hayley's parents died in a car crash, leaving Hayley in Jordan's care. Jordan was 23 when she took her in.

"First you're not old. You're only 35. Secondly . . . I was just thinking about . . . you know." Jordan sighed and ruffled the girl's messy long hair.

"I won't make you go back to that school. I have a friend who works at a privet school in Oregon called New Leaf Academy, far away from here on the East coast. It you want, I can transfer you there. You would be living in the dorms and can always come back for the holidays. It is up to you." Jordan was a Psychology teacher. Unfortunately, she didn't work at Hayley's school. Jordan was actually a university teacher and since she was a teacher that was highly regarded, she had connections.

Hayley thought about her guardian's offer. A new school away from all of this nonsense sounds amazing. She saw no drawbacks except. . .

"What about you? You would be all alone here." Jordan laughed. It made her happy when her charge was worried about her.

"Don't worry about me. I'm 35. I can take care of myself." She gave her a wink. She then got up so she could make breakfast and tea. She went over to the fridge to grab the eggs and bacon and then set them on the counter.

"You know, you never did tell me exactly why 'the incident' happened." Hayley stiffened. Should she tell her? What if Jordan thought she was pathetic? _That's a stupid thought. Jordan loves you like the daughter she never had. It should be alright. _

"Do you remember Bri- um _that guy_?" _I want to remember as little as possible about him. If I don't use his name maybe I will forget it. _

Jordan thought for a minute then gave her a nod. "Well he made a bet with his friends that he could make me lose my virginity within a month. He tricked me, made me feel loved. After a while, he tried 'making a move' but I stuck to my guns and wouldn't let him. He got mad and left. The next day he told me about the bet"- tears threatened to leak-"H-He did it in front of everyone. He and his friends hu-humiliated me in the hall where e-everyone could see." Jordan ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her, giving her much needed comfort.

"You, my dear, are a rare human being. Very few people like you are out there but I believe that can change so don't lose hope. I am proud of you for sticking to what you feel is right." She leaned away to look the young girl in the eye. The reason Hayley even was like the way she is now was because of Jordan. Her guardian has practiced what she preached. Since she has never been married or dated really because she was busy taking care of Hayley and her job, she is an even more rare human. Not many 35 year olds with their V-card. Jordan's a romantic at heart.

"Great, I'm an endangered species." Hayley said as she wiped the tears from her face. Jordan roared with laughter.

"Yep, you and me both kid! I was just like you at that age."

"What are you talking about? You still are like that!"

After that, everything was put into action. Hayley decided to go to New Leaf Academy. Jordan talked to the school to get the paperwork needed and sent it all to the new school. Hayley worked on packing her things and getting ready. A week later (Jordan works fast); it was time for Hayley to leave.

"Okay are you sure you have everything you need?" Jordan held Hayley's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Hayley smiled. "Yes I'm sure. Don't worry."

"I can't help it! You're like my daughter!" Jordan pulled Hayley into a tight hug. "Be strong and have fun." Hayley hug back with just as much force. "Don't worry, I will."

Both girls let go and smiled at each other. Jordan reached up and ruffled her cousin's hair. "Alright kid, It's time for you to get going or you'll miss your flight. Oh and think of this as you going on an adventure!" Her eyes lit up at the thought. Hayley knew that look.

"You're comparing it to manga aren't you?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Haha, Maybe. You know you are too! You like the stuff just as much as I do. We even have the same favorite!"

"Yeah I know. We both like 'Naruto'." She smiled and shook her head.

"Not like it, Love it! I raised you on that story! I remember when I was your age and new chapters were still coming out. . ." Jordan had a faraway look in her eyes as she remembered her glory days.

"Yes I know, and you cried when it ended." Hayley rolled her eyes, a small smile played on her lips.

"Damn strait I did! Hell _I_ was raised on it! I started watching it on TV when I was 11 and it ended when I was 21! I couldn't believe how it ended. Sasunaru actually happened! It was very subtle so the guys who read it wouldn't be completely grossed out but it was obvious for us fangirls!" She squeeled in delight almost looking like she was a teen all over again. Hayley laughed at her antics.

"Your such a yaoi fangirl you know that?"

"Yeah and so are you." Jordan gives her a sly grin when she saw the look of shock on her cousin's face. "Yeah that's right I know. I raised you for goodness sakes nothing can get passed me and I know you like sasunaru as well."

Hayley puts her hands up in defeat. "Guilty as charged." The two laughed together, bringing their an arm up and putting it over the other's shoulders.

"Alright I better go." They gave each other one last hug then Hayley left. Jordan watched her walk away until she couldn't see her anymore. She was going to miss the kid. _I hope I'm doing the right thing._

After security, Hayley got onto her plane and looked out the window. She felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster. She was excited but scared, happy but sad, but most of all determined. _I just hope that things will be better._ That was the last thing she thought before falling into a dreamless sleep.

~Back to the present~

So here Hayley is, standing in a crowd of anime characters who shouldn't exist in real life, shielding one of her favorite characters from bullies.

"Since you're new here I will let you off the hook for now. Just leave the monster to us and all is forgiven."

"Oh shut it Pinkie! Geez, annoying as always." The bully in front of her was a girl with long pink hair and green eyes. Next to her was her best friend/ rival. She had long blond hair that was pulled up into a ponytail. Some of her bangs were covering her right eye.

"What did you just say!" Pinkie growled out. Hayley just rolled her eyes, not threatened by the girl at all.

"What, are you deaf or are you just too dumb to comprehend?" Hayley smirked which only caused her enemy's anger to rise. The only reason she had confidence at this point was because she knew these guys so well. Hell, she grew up with them. They just didn't know it. Although she could have sworn these two girls weren't this bad in the manga.

"Sakura. That's enough. Leave it." All three girls, the bullied, and all bystanders turned to see a boy with pale skin and midnight black eyes, they were cold and didn't hold any sign of emotion in them. He also had raven black hair that was oddly shaped like a duck's butt. _Oh just great, now I have to deal with emo duck butt. I hope he isn't his psycho self now. _

"Sasuke!" Both girls squealed, almost forgetting that they were currently trying to torcher this kid. While they were distracted, Hayley took a glance behind her to see if the poor guy was okay. The kid was pretty small for a guy, only an inch or two taller than her. He had golden hair and sun kissed tan skin but the most striking feature were his eyes. They were a deep blue that made you feel as though they can see straight to a person's soul and no matter what happened a spark of defiance never left them. Yeah that's right, she is saving Naruto Uzumaki from a bunch of no good bullies. Who da thunk.

The two made eye contact for a split second, just enough time to convey that Hayley was truly on his side. Then she turned her attention back to the problem in front.

Sakura and Ino ( if you haven't guessed that's who was with her) were swarming the raven, completely going banana's over their idol. Said guy just stood there, emotionless, glaring over at Hayley and Naruto. Seems like the fan girls didn't notice.

"Can we leave now? I seriously don't need to see fan girls going gaga over some pretty boy." Hayley sighed.

"Show some respect to Sasuke you dirty little whore!" Ino spat.

"Yeah! Why don't you just leave and take that monster with you!" Sakura added.

Hayley glared at them. She knew they weren't this bad in the manga. What the hell?

"Enough both of you." Sasuke glared down at them, making them flinch away. Both girls obediently nodded their head and left but not before they gave a good shove to Hayley when they passed by. Hayley continued to glare at their backs then turned toward Sasuke.

"I don't know why you did that and I don't care but thanks anyways."

"hn." Sasuke looked behind the ginger, making eye contact with Naruto. She looked between the two and noticed their facial expressions. Naruto's was full of hurt. His eyes held just a hint of hope in them but just barely. Sasuke's held no signs of emotion like usual except for a quick flash of it but it was gone before Hayley could do any deciphering . Sasuke broke the trance the two were in and left without another word. The crowd dispersed afterwards.

"Thanks for that." Hayley saw Naruto give her a brilliant smile. He was scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry you got caught up in all of that though."

Hayley gave him a small smile and patted the boy on the head. "It was my pleasure. By the way, My name's Hayley." She stuck out her hand towards the blond. He took it and smiled. "I'm Naruto." _I know._ Hayley thought.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, if you don't mind, can you tell me why you were being bullied?" Naruto flinched. He didn't really want her to know. He didn't want her to hate him or think he was a . . . monster. He looked at her, and only saw true concern and kindness. He took a deep breath. "I will tell you on the way to class. Okay?" Hayley nodded her head. "Oh wait, I need to go to the office for my schedule. Can you show me where that is?"

"Sure!"

On the way, Naruto told her his story. It turns out that almost everyone at the school is a local. Most students grew up with each other. It was one of those small town things when everyone knows everyone. The thing is, Naruto was just an easy target for bullies and the only reason they call him a monster is because of the whisker like birthmarks on his face. He was always bullied since he could remember. While Hayley was listening to the story, it seemed that Naruto wasn't telling the whole thing but she decided not to push it. When Hayley asked about parents, Naruto shook his head and said, "I don't have any."

"Just to let you know, I can tell you aren't telling me everything and that's fine. I just wanted to say that no matter what, I will be on your side. You could be housing a giant 9 tailed fox inside you and I wouldn't care." She winked. She received a shocked expression which quickly turned into a grateful smile in return for her comforting words.

When they got to the office, Naruto and Hayley went over to the secretary at the desk. "Hi. I'm Hayley, the new student. I came to get my schedule and dorm room number and key." Hayley said as she walked up to the secretary in the main office.

"Oh right! Miss Tsunade is in her office. She will talk to you about everything you need to know." The secretary said.

"Thanks Shizune!" Hayley said as she walked towards Tsunade's office. She smirked at the look of shock on the two's faces. Naruto and Shizune looked at each other, confused. No one said the woman's name and there was no name tag on the desk or on her shirt. So how did she know her name?

When Hayley got to the office door, she knocked. When She heard a muffled "Come in", she opened the door and walked in. Inside, Tsunade was sitting at her desk, furiously writing something down. When she looked up, she sighed and took a swig of some type of drink (Hayley assumed it was alcohol).

"Listen kid, we need to talk." She woman said.

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, we sure do. Tsunade."

* * *

Let me know what you think! I greatly appreciate it!


	2. Let the games begin!

**Disclaimor: I only own my OC's and this particular plot. **

Chapter 2

Let the Games Begin

When Hayley got to the office door, she knock. She heard a muffled "Come in" so she opened the door and walked in. Inside, Tsunade was sitting at her desk, furiously writing something down. When she looked up, she sighed and took a swig of some type of drink (Hayley assumed it was alcohol).

"Listen kid, we need to talk." She woman said.

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, we sure do. Tsunade."

"Here are the list of rules for the school. No boys in your dorm after ten, no whore-ish clothing, keep curfew which is ten etc. If you have any questions, just ask around or ask Shizune. She is the lady who you just saw." Tsunade handed Hayley a packet of the school rules and information. Hayley raised an eyebrow at the thickness of the packet. _More like a book._ She thought.

"So . . . are you going to tell me why you exist?" Hayley asked. Tsunade looked at her like she had to heads.

"Well . . . when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much-"

"That's not what I meant." Hayley deadpanned. Tsunade sighed. "Well I don't know what you mean then."

"Oh come on! Don't tell me that you have no clue!" Hayley through her hands in the air then dropped them heavily. She could see that Tsunade genuinely hadn't a clue as to what she was trying to get across. "You . . . don't know anything do you?" Hayley sighed. "Never mind."

Tsunade gave her a calculating look then handed the girl a letter. "Here, this is a letter from the Principle of the school. Since he couldn't be here, he wanted to give this to you as a welcoming gesture." The envelope was a pale tan color. On one side, it had just Hayley's name in fancy writing on the other the flap was sealed off with red wax. In the wax was a picture of Konoha's symbol in the Naruto manga. Hayley glared at it. _What the hell is going on? _She thought.

"Well go on now. Your belongings are already at your dorm room. Go to your classes. The teachers should give you your books when you get there." Tsunade waved her hand, shooing her out the door. Hayley left without a glance back and headed to her first class.

As she was walking down the hallway, she looked at her schedule to see what her first class was. "Let's see . . ."

_**Schedule**_

_Period 1: History Professor Tobi_

_Period 2: English Professor Jiraiya_

_Period 3: Gym Professor Gai _

_Period 4: Math Professor Kakashi_

_Period 5: Lunch_

_Period 6 Biology Professor Orochimaru_

_Period 7 Psychology Professor Itachi _

_Period 8 Choir Professor Iruka_

"What the heck! Tobi! This should be interesting ." Hayley growled out. After looking at her schedule, she took out the envelope addressed to her. In it was a letter.

_**Dear Miss Hayley,**_

_**It is my pleasure to welcome you to my school. I am terribly sorry that I was not there to greet you in person but I unfortunately had some important business to take care of.**_

_**Now I bet you are wondering how it is possible for the characters of Naruto to be here. **_

"Finally! Maybe I can get some answers. Obviously this guy isn't a character himself but who is he?"

_**Things will be explained in due time when I return. I know you have many questions for me and I promise they will be answered. For now, please keep the fact that you know who everyone is and that they are manga Characters a secret. It would cause a great disaster if it was let out. **_

_**M.K.**_

_**P.S. I am the friend of your godmother **_

When Hayley was done reading, she noticed that she had made it to her first class. "Well, here goes nothing." She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. When she stepped in, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked her way. The students' heads popped up from either taking notes or sleeping. Hayley looked from the students to the teacher in front of her. She sweat dropped at the sight.

_Seriously, he's wearing that orange mask. I mean come on! _

"Ah! You must be Hayley! Tobi is very happy to have you in his class!" Tobi quickly put down his dry-erase marker ( yes he was using a white board), ran over to Hayley and gave her an enthusiastic handshake. Her armed shook up and down wildly from the shake.

Once he stopped, he motioned to the class and said, "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class." Hayley nodded and faced the class. This time she got a good look. She noticed all of the bullies from earlier were in the back snickering. All of them but Sasuke to her surprise, but then again, he isn't the type to show emotion. In front near the teacher's desk, was Naruto and much to Hayley's enjoyment, he wasn't alone. There next to him were Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata. None of them were giving off a hostile atmosphere.

"Hi, My name is Hayley. I'm from New Jersey. My favorite food is Ramen and my favorite color is orange." She winked at Naruto, who was excited by the news, when she said this. "I like to-"

"No one cares so shut up bitch!" In the back, Hayley heard a roar of laughter. She looked towards them and could see Sakura had a smug look on her face. Hayley gave them no satisfaction, keeping a poker face.

"As I was saying, I like to read and write. What I don't like are people who think that making other's lives hell is a fun past time. For any of you who take part in the activity," She glared at the group in the back. It was so intense that even the Uchiha flinched a little," I will be your worst nightmare." She growled out. Considering the reason why she was there in the first place, she had a grudge against all bullies.

"Oh and by the way, Naruto" She pointed to the blond up front. "is my friend so if you harm him in anyway, the next thing you see will be the hospital . . . if you wake up that is." She smirked at the reaction she got from her threat and walked over to sit in the seat in front of Kiba, next to Naruto. Of course the threat was a bluff, she couldn't really fight if she tried but that doesn't mean she wouldn't take a hit for Naruto. Also_ they_ didn't need to know that. "Thank you." Naruto whispered and smiled. "No problem." She smiled back. She looked at the group and saw they were all smiling. "Welcome to the group!" Kiba slapped a hand on her back. "That was one awesome introduction you gave there." Hayley chuckled as she faced front. Tobi had handed her a textbook. She looked him in the one eye that was showing. Instead of the happy go lucky emotion, she saw a darkness in his eye. _Hmmm. Something isn't right with that. _She thought. I guess Obito let his real self show.

After class, Hayley was waiting as her new friends were packing up their things when suddenly she was shoved. She had just managed to catch herself on a desk before she hit the ground.

"Oh I'm sooooo sorry. Are you okay?" Ino mocked. Sakura snickered behind her. Hayley rolled her eyes. "You guys seriously need to get a life. I mean come on! Even your precious Sasuke isn't this bad and neither are the rest of the '_popular'_ guys." She held up her figure and did quotation marks when she said popular.

"We just weren't in the mood." Everyone turned around to see Neji, Sai, Gaara, and of course Sasuke walk up. It was Sai who had spoken.

"So the little twerp has a new friend huh? Pretty out spoken. We should fix that don't you think?" Neji said with a sadistic smile, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Why don't you guys just leave her alone or are you threatened by her because you know she could beat you to a bloody pulp any day." Kiba interjected. Hayley was grateful that he would stand up for her when they had just met. She gave him a soft smile.

"Thanks Kiba but you don't have to help me. I haven't earned your help."

"Toublesome. We heard what you did this morning for Naruto. We think you have earned our friendship." Shikamaru said. Everyone in the group nodded their head.

"Aw how touching, freaks becoming friends with an even bigger freek." Sakura mocked.

"Shut up Sakura. Let's get to class or we'll be late." Sasuke, to everyone's surprise, stopped Sakura and stepped up to Hayley. Hayley, not wanting to seem intimidated, stepped up to him. They both glared at each other challengingly. Then Hayley saw a flash of emotion again. This time she was able to read it. To her confusion it was acceptance and a hint of . . . gratitude? It was gone before anyone else could see.

"hn." Sasuke then stepped back and lead his group out of the room.

"It's a good thing you're on our side." Choji said in between bites of the chips he was eating.

"S-sorry you have to go through that." Hinata added.

"Don't worry about it. I hate bullies so I will do anything to stand in their way."

"Why?" Naruto asked. He gave her a knowing look. It seemed that the only reason he asked was just for confirmation.

Hayley sighed. "Because I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end." Her mind flashed back to the _incident_ that got her here in the first place. She didn't want anyone to be humiliated like that.

"But don't worry about me, I'm used to it. Besides we can't let them win by being sad all the time now can we!" She said in the happiest tone she could muster and pounded her fist into her hand. She didn't want her friends to be in a gloomy mood because of her.

The group smiled at her. Naruto and Kiba threw their fists in the air and yelled, "Hell yeah!"

It turns out that they all had the same schedule. It seems that the students have all of their classes with their home room. Lunch is when the whole grade got together.

On their way to Kakashi's class, Shikamaru tapped Hayley on the shoulder and led her to the back of the group.

"You noticed the Uchiha showed emotion, didn't you." Shikamaru asked, well more like stated.

"It figures you would notice." Hayley said. "Yeah I did. It happened this morning too, when I was helping Naruto out. I think it has to do with our blond hair friend." Shikamaru looked at the said blond, who was laughing away with Choji and Hinata because of a joke Kiba had said, and nodded.

"Yeah. . . maybe."

"I saw gratitude in his eyes. What could he be grateful for though?" Hayley wondered.

"Maybe he was grateful for the fact that you stood up to his group on Naruto's behalf if we go on the theory that it had to do with Naruto." The lazy teen replied. Both looked at each other with quirked brows. They were interrupted by Kiba.

"Hey you two! Not hooking up already are you!" He, Choji, and Naruto all started to laugh at the identical blushes on the two's faces. Hinata blushed along with them.

"No Stupid! I wouldn't want to steel you man!" Hayley shouted back. Kiba abruptly stopped laughing as his jaw dropped. Choji and Naruto were practically falling over in laughter by now and Hinata was as red as a tomato. Hayley heard Shikamaru sigh. She gave him and apologetic smile.

"Touché." Kiba replied after a minute. Hayley walked up to the two boys who had just calmed down from their laughing fit. As she past them she whispered. "Notice how he didn't deny the 'his man' part." That started a whole new laugh fest.

The rest of the morning went uneventful. Jiraiya turned out to be a pervert, as expected, but was a teacher who was on Naruto's side when it came down to things, which made Hayley happy. Gai was just as energetic and 'youthful' as he was in the manga and pretty neutral with all the students. Kakashi was in a similar boat as Jiraiya, one of the good guys. Now it was lunch and things were about to get crazy.


	3. Stupid Uchihas!

Chapter 3

Stupid Uchihas!

"Dude I am starving!" Kiba exclaimed. He looked down, pouting as he rubbed his stomach. Everyone had just gotten out of class and was headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

"You and me both. I hope they have good food because the food back at my old school sucked!" Hayley replied. She had a flash back to a lunch special back at her old school, mystery meat, watery mashed potatoes, soggy mixed veggies and milk. She shivered at the memory. She only bought lunch once. Jordan made sure it was only once after that.

"Don't worry, the food is quite good." Hinata said in a small voice. She gave Hayley a reassuring smile.

"Well then what are we waiting for! Let's get going!" Naruto ran in between Kiba and Hayley and grabbed their hands, dragging them all the way to the cafeteria. Choji, Shikamaru and Hinata followed behind.

As they walked in, Hayley was pleased to see Naruto smiling. He seemed genuinely happy at that moment. Once they got to a table, they split up into two groups because Shikamaru, Choji and Hinata all had brought lunch.

"How were you guys able to bring lunch?" Hayley asked.

"Hinata's family is rich so they paid for her to have a dorm with a kitchen. She asked for one since she likes to cook." Choji answered. Hayley cocked a brow at Kiba and Naruto. "So why are you guys buying lunch instead of eating her wonderful cooking?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but Kiba cut him off. "The caff. sells ramen. It's his favorite food so he buys that instead. I eat her food sometimes and sometimes I buy my food. It just depends on my mood."

"uh-huh." Hayley replied. The three headed up to the lunch line to get some food. Naruto was bouncing up and down, excited to get his ramen. He didn't notice but everyone around him was glaring at him. So Hayley glared back. When she made eye contact with someone, she would crack her knuckles and neck, trying to intimidate them. It worked somewhat. They at least left her blond friend alone.

"Thanks for keeping an eye out for him." Kiba whispered so that Naruto couldn't hear. Hayley gave him a small smile and nodded. Once they got their food ( Hayley cracked and got ramen with Naruto. Kiba got a cheese burger) they headed to the table where the rest of the group was.

"Well look who it is. The monster, his mutt and the new skank." All three froze and turned to see Sakura sitting with Sasuke and his posse at the table they were passing by.

"I knew I smelt a rat. Quick guys! Let's go before we catch her stupid!" Hayley said. Kiba and, to Hayley's delight, Naruto laughed. Hayley was glad that Naruto was able to let lose around his tormenters while she was there.

"Excuse me!" Sakura shrieked.

"Calm down Sakura. Don't dish out what you can't handle." Sasuke reprimanded. For a fleeting moment he made eye contact with Hayley and gave her an approving smirk before anyone else saw. _I don't know what the hell is going on but I guess the Uchiha is on my side._ Hayley thought.

"But Sasuke!" Sasuke glared at the pinkette effectively shutting her up.

"It seems you really have a mouth don't you?" Sai commented.

"Yeah so you better watch out or you'll have to deal with her temper." Kiba clapped a hand on Hayley's shoulder. "She's one hell of a fiery red head."

"Hiding behind a girl Dog breath?" Neji sneered. Kiba growled. Hayley was going to come to his defense but she didn't have to.

"No. It's more like she's keeping him at bay for your sakes." Naruto said. Anger coated his voice as he glared at each of them. It was like his eyes were piercing into their souls and for the first time Naruto had intimidated them. The group was surprised to see him finally confront them in some way. It had been a while since anyone had seen any type of fight in him.

Hayley smirked. "Looks like I just woke up the hidden power inside my blond friend. Be careful or I just might let him use it." With that, Hayley made both boys turn around and pushed them to their table. She noticed that Shikamaru and Choji had both stood up just in case they were needed. Hinata was glaring over their direction but she was solely glaring at Neji. Hayley looked over her shoulder and gave the group of bullies a triumph smile and held up the victory sign.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Sakura stood up and threw her open milk carton at Naruto. It hit him and splashed all over his back. "FAG!"

Hayley saw red. She twisted around, stomped over, gabbed Sakura by the hair and threw her down to the ground. She then slammed down on her and pinned her arm against Sakura's throat.

"Don't you _ever_ insult him like that again! DO YOU HEAR ME! EVER!" Hayley yelled. She didn't know where the strength she had was coming from. She blamed it on adrenalin.

Sakura was struggling below her, trying her best to breath. Finally someone grabbed Hayley by the waist and pull her off of the choking girl. Hayley looked back to see who it was. It was Sasuke. Now she wanted blood. How dare he stop her! She started to kick and swing her arms around to get him to let go.

"Uchiha if you don't get off me right now I swear to God-"

"If you kill her then who the hell is going to help _him_ while you're in jail. Calm down. _He_ needs you." He whispered. Hayley froze. She slowly moved her head over to Naruto and Kiba. Naruto was facing her. She could see unshed tears in his eyes. Kiba had one arm around his shaking shoulders. Hayley bit her lip and squeezed her eyes.

"Fine." She bit out. "I don't know what the hell you are thinking Uchiha but you better get your act together or I swear you will never get near Naruto. Got it!" she angrily whispered.

He let go and gave her a quick nod. Everyone else from his group didn't see the exchange. They were too busy helping Sakura.

Everyone in the room was staring at them. "Troublesome. Come on guys. Let's get going." Shikamaru said. Hayley just noticed that Hinata, Shika, and Choji had joined them during the fight.

"Sounds like a plan." Hayley said. She gave Sakura one last glared before she looked at Sasuke. They had a silent conversation.

_Keep him safe._

_I will but you better get your act together and fix this._

_I will. Somehow. _

Then she walked away with Naruto and the group. Then she stopped and turned around again. "Why me!" She yelled at the raven. She was happy to help Naruto but why did Sasuke leave him in her care while he got things straight instead of his other friends.

"Hn." He said with a smirk and led his group out of the room.

"Stupid Uchiha." She mumbled.

For the rest of lunch, they sat in peace. Hayley had to steal food from her new friends because she had dropped hers when she took down Sakura. After the fight, they had left the cafeteria to find an empty classroom.

"I can't believe you attacked Sakura! It was freaking awesome!" Kiba exclaimed. He did a quick reenactment of the scene.

"Yeah I have to admit, you looked pretty damn scary when you did." Choji added.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt." Hinata patted Hayley's arm. Hayley smiled at the shy girl. "Don't worry Hinata! Besides, Naruto was impressive. He actually put some fear into all of them." She nudged said blond in the side with her elbow.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave a small smile. "I uh well, I just didn't like how they were talking about you guys."

"It's about time we saw the old fighting Naruto again!" Kiba swung his arm around Naruto's neck and dragged him down to give him a nuggy.

After lunch they headed down to their next class.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Hayley had forgotten that she had the Pedophile snake himself, Orochimaru.

"Seems we have a new student." He hissed out. Hayley widened her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she said. "You don't say!" Kiba, Choji, and Naruto could be heard snickering behind her. Even Shikamaru and Hinata holding back smiles and trying not to laugh.

"Hm. I guess you're parents didn't do a good job teaching you manners." That struck a nerve. Hayley lost her parents at the age of five. She missed them dearly. She and Jordan would go visit their grave every year to 'give them an update' on life.

Before she knew it, she was shaking and tears were building up in her eyes. Her parents were her biggest weakness. She looked the man straight in the eyes and glared. "My parents are dead." She growled out. Everyone who could hear the conversation was shocked at the news. Naruto noticed the unshed tears and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Excuse me sir but you went too far." Naruto said not once moving his hand. The rest of the group had come up and stood behind her for support. Orochimaru 'hmphed' and left them to find their seats.

"Are you okay?" Naruto whispered to Hayley as they sat down. She gave him a smile and nodded her head. She didn't say anything for the rest of the class.

Sakura had watched the whole thing._ Looks like I found a weakness. _She smirked.

In the back, Neji was whispering to Sasuke. "Hey, what was up with you and the new skank at lunch?" Sasuke gave Neji a blank stare and said, "I don't know what you are talking about." Then he turned back to the board to take notes.

"Don't give me that. When you grabbed her off of Sakura, you said something to her. What did you say?" Neji pressed.

"Nothing. Now drop it." Sasuke's tone of voice had a finality to it, stating that was the end of the conversation. Neji dropped it. For now.

At the end of class, everyone headed over to psychology. "Yes! I'm actually good at this subject! You see my godmother is a well-respected psychology teacher. She has pasted down her knowledge to me although I'm not as good as her." Hayley prided in her godmother.

"Really! Then you can help me with it because I just don't understand it that well." Kiba gave Hayley his puppy dog eyes.

"Don't know if your puppy dog eyes a cute or just plain weird." Hayley squinted her eyes at him. "Alright, I'll help." Kiba jumped in the air. "Aaaaawwwww Yeeeaaaah!"

When they got to the class room, Hayley held open the door for her friends making her the last person to enter. When she did, she wasn't expecting to get a heart attack.

She walked in and saw the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was tall and built but not overly muscular. His hair was black and long, which he pulled back low against his neck. He was standing with one hand leaning on his desk while the other was in his pocket. His right leg slightly crossed over the left, giving off a relaxed but concentrating look. He was wearing a suit but without his jacket. It was hanging on the back of his chair. He was looking at some papers on his desk when he suddenly looked up and made eye contact with her.

_Ba-dum _

It was like time stopped. It felt as though they were the only people in the world. Both couldn't and wouldn't break the eye contact in fear that the spell they were under will break. It left them breathless.

_Ba-dum_

Neither of them noticed as the man slowly walked towards her. They were unaware of the fact that everyone was staring at them, lost in their own little world. They were standing close together, his face only inches from hers. His eyes smothered hers with emotions she has never seen before or at least not while a man was looking at her. His eyes . . . it was like he could see _all_ of her.

"Um Mr. Uchiha?" And the spell was broken. Both quickly backed away from each other. Hayley ducked her head and walked away from the student and teacher. She didn't see the look of annoyance flash across his face nor the look of disappointment as he watched her walk away.

Hayley clutched the area over her heart. _My heart is beating like crazy. It feels as though it's going to jump right out of my chest . . . Did I just think that? I seriously need to stop reading so much romance stories. _

Once she calmed down, she looked up at her friends all giving her some type of 'what the heck was that?' look except Shikamaru. He had a knowing look that Hayley wasn't to found of at the moment. In reply she shrugged giving them the 'I don't know' look. She turned her head towards the front and made eye contact with the man again.

_Ba-dum_

"For the new student's sake, my name is Itachi Uchiha. You may address me as Mr. Uchiha. I am the psychology teacher." He gave Hayley a friendly smirk.

_Ba-dum_

_Oh boy. I'm falling for Itachi, aren't I? Since when was love at first sight not just in fairy-tales and fanfictions?__ . . . I don't remember him being this good looking in the manga._


	4. Dumb Pinkettes, Love Drama, and Principa

Chapter 4

Dumb Pinkettes, Love Drama, and Principal Who!?

_Oh boy. I'm falling for Itachi, aren't I? _

Hayley shifted her gaze to the professor who was occupying her thoughts. _No. I won't fall for anyone again. Not after the incident_.

For the rest of the period Hayley made sure to never make eye contact with the older Uchiha. Of course said Uchiha was annoyed that she wouldn't look at him, not that she noticed. The class on the other hand did see that their teacher was acting just a little off. They could feel a tension in the air.

"What is it called when a person has more than one personality?" Hayley's head perked up. She knew this answer. Before she could raise her hand, a pink haired jerk beat her to it. Itachi nodded his head at Sakura, giving her to go ahead to answer.

"It's multiple personality, sir." The way Sakura attempted a "sexy voice" made Hayley, along with her friends, roll her eyes. _Oh god don't make me gag._

"Does she do that a lot?" Hayley whispered.

"Every day." Naruto whispered back.

"She should pick one Uchiha and stick with it." Hayley mumbled.

"Well apparently one just got taken." Naruto gave her a knowing smirk. Hayley gave him a look that said ' not cool'.

"That's what it's commonly called but not the answer I was looking for." Itachi replied. He completely ignored Sakura's seducing which made Hayley smirk. Then Hayley called out the answer without thinking, before Itachi called on her. "Dissociative Identity Disorder I believe is the term you are looking for."

All eyes turned towards her. Some were surprised. Others, namely Sakura and her crew, glared at her. Her friends were hiding their laughter behind their hands.

"What? All did was answer the question." Hayley innocently commented.

"I do appreciate the fact that you are participating and that you knew the answer, but you spoke out of turn. I don't tolerate people calling out and interrupting my class, Hayley." Itachi gained her full attention. She would swear her godmother influenced her too much because just like her loud mouth guardian, she just let her mouth run. "Oh come on Itachi, it was just a slip. It's not like anyone was talking." Gasps could be heard echoing across the room. Hayley's eyes went wide as she became aware of what she had just done. She realized that calling her teacher by his first name was probably not a good thing let alone being so casual! _Dang it! I forgot! I'm so used to just calling him Itachi when I was reading Naruto! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! _

"Hayley, I would like to see you after class." Itachi said giving no sign as to what he was thinking. _Stupid poker face. Can't tell how much trouble I'm in._ Hayley banged her head on the desk.

"Nice one." Naruto snickered.

"Shut up." Hayley said, not lifting her head.

When the class was leaving at the end of the period, Naruto, Kiba, Shika, and Hinata stayed back.

"I don't know what was going through your mind today when you called Mr. Uchiha by his first name but it sure was funny!" Kiba slapped Hayley on the back.

"Troublesome. Try not to let your mouth go this time." Shikamaru smirked at Hayley's glare.

"It's not my fault. My guardian is the kind of person who speaks before thinking so it kinda rubbed off on me. " Shikamaru gave her a look that said, 'don't give excuses'.

"We can wait for you outside if you want." Hinata piped up.

"Thanks Hinata, but I don't want you guys to be late."

"Well we will see you in class. Just be careful okay?" Naruto said. Hayley gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about me." She winked.

"Could you please leave while I have a word with Miss Hayley." Itachi stood at his desk, watching the group of friends say their 'see ya laters'. Hayley walked up to stand on the other side of his desk.

"Hayley." Itachi looked her dead in the eye. It was just like when they first had seen each other. Hayley's heart started to pound again so she put a blank expression on her face and crossed her arms in order to hide any feelings from showing. _Stop heart! I said never again! _

"I'm sorry Mr. Uchiha. It was a slip of the tongue. It won't happen again."

"I would believe that the apology given was sincere . . . if you weren't trying to hide your emotions behind a tuff exterior and crossed arms across your chest." He raised one eyebrow. Hayley glared. _Stupid psychology teacher reading me. _

"Well, if you weren't trying to pry into my private feelings by reading me, I would be more sincere." Hayley shot back.

"Well, if you weren't so easy to read, I would be tempted to do so." He smirked. He quickly understood just how fun it was to tease her.

Hayley growled in annoyance and turned to leave. When she got to the door, Itachi stopped her in her tracks. "Where are you going?" Itachi asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Somewhere without stupid weasels." She called over her shoulder. With that, she slammed the door shut. Itachi sat at his desk chuckling. "She sure is one interesting girl and fun to tease."

"I heard that." Hayley poked her head through the doorway and gave him a final glare, which wasn't as intense because of the light blush on her face, before closing the door again. Itachi' eyes widened and he laughed some more. He couldn't get her out of his head. _She's cute when she blushes. _

Hayley mumbled the entire way to her next class. Well she would be on her way to her next class if she hadn't have gotten lost.

"Crap!"

"Need Help?" Hayley turned her head to the right. Walking towards her was Tobi. "Oh professor Tobi. Actually, I could use some help. I got lost. Can you show me where the music room is?"

"Yeah! Tobi can take you there!" He said in an overly cheery voice. He then started leading the way to the class room. She didn't like him but she knew she had to put up a front.

"So I see that you have become friends with that mon-*cough* Naruto." Hayley caught the slip. She didn't like it.

"Yeah I am. He's an amazing person who deserves to be treated better." She said with a tone that dared anyone to challenge her.

"Well, just watch out for yourself. Don't want you getting hurt." His voice changed from cheery to low with a hint of a threat. Before she could reply, Tobi had opened the door to the music room and pushed her in.

"Here you go Mr. Umino! She got a little lost so please forgive her." Hayley glared back at the door to see that the masked man had left.

_I sure have been glaring a lot since I've arrived at this school._

"Oh you must be Hayley! Welcome to Choir!" Iruka was sitting at a black grand piano that was stationed in front of the choir on the risers. Hayley never would have pinned Iruka to be a music teacher. She could see it kind of fit him in some way. She couldn't quite say what way exactly though.

"I'm guessing the reason that everyone has all of their classes together is because you are all in the choir correct?" Hayley asked.

"That's right." Iruka said. "Now come over to the piano so I can see what voice part you are."

"Um actually, I can tell you what part I am. I'm a soprano one but I can sing any part if I am needed elsewhere." Hayley had been in a choir since third grade. She is pretty good if she did say so herself.

"That's great! How about you sit next to Hinata in the sorprano one section there in the front. We could use more high voices." Hayley turned and smiled at Hinata. _Sweet! _Hinata smiled and waved.

On the other side of Hinata was Sakura and Ino. They were in the soprano two section. "Whore. Why don't you just jump off a cliff." Sakura sneered and Ino snickered. Sakura then turned and raised her hand. "Excuse me sir but I can't sit near Hayley. You see she had viciously attacked me earlier today and I feel threatened for my life in her presence." On the other side of the risers, Kiba and Naruto growled out and Shikamaru glared at the pinkette.

"Do you have proof that I attacked you?" Hayley said. Let's hope I'm just as good at the poker-face as the Uchihas.

"Yeah! I have bruises from it!" She yelled.

"Okay but can you prove that it was _me_ who did it? How do we know that you didn't just put them there so that it looked like you were attacked just to get me into trouble later on?" Hayley countered. By now, everyone in the class was holding back laughs except Sakura's group. Although to Hayley's delight, Sasuke was trying not to smirk.

"Now why the hell would I do that!?" Sakura hysterically yelled.

"Well because you hate me. I should be the one in fear of her life. I quote,' Whore. Why don't you just jump off a cliff.' End quote. Everyone here is a witness. They heard you say it." _Game . . . Set . . . Match_. . . Hayley gave her friends a wink. Kiba and Naruto gave her a thumbs up. Shikamaru chuckled and Hinata patted Hayley's hand with amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Well Sakura. It seems that if you can't behave then I will have to send you down to the main office. Now leave Hayley alone." Iruka said. "Okay class today we will be going over-"

"_Hayley please come down to the main office. Hayley to the main office." _Shizune called over the intercom.

"Well Hayley, you better go. See you tomorrow. You can ask your friends for what you missed." Iruka dismissed her. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, and Shika all gave Hayley worried looks which she returned with a smile.

When she got to the main office, Shizune told Hayley to go to the Principal's office. _I wonder what is going on? _She thought.

When she walked in, sitting at the desk was an old Asian man with a smirk on his face. "Hello Hayley. I'm Principal M.K. You can call me Mr. Kishi."

* * *

I hope you have liked it so far! please review! :D


	5. Author's note! Still writing story! Poll

Author's note!

Okay, so I was editing Across Space and Time when I looked at some of the reviews. Some people asked if there will be yaoi in there. That was the plan but I decided to take a poll to see what everyone thought. I want to know what you want. So there is a poll set up to see what you guys want!

I hope you all cast your vote! Should Sasuke and Naruto be friends or more than friends?

:)

Thanks for reading and casting your vote!


	6. Confrontations

**So, here is the new chapter! Woohoo! **

**I have been keeping track on everyone's opinion about the sasunaru vs just friends debate. So far it has been equal between the two choices. So I have decided to stick with my original idea but not make it as blatant with those two as it would be for other couples in the story. And for those who are wondering if that will effect Hayley and Itachi's relationship, it won't. ;) **

**I hope you will continue to read and enjoy the story. **

**Thank you to those who have been reviewing! I really appreciate it! **

**Enjoy! **

Chapter 5

Confrontations

Hayley laid in her bed, pondering over all that has happened that day. So much had happened and so fast. She became close with Naruto and his friends, became the number one enemy of the popular crowd, again, and she met the school principle who just so happens to be Kishimotto, the guy who wrote the Naruto series in the first place.

_Flash Back_:

"_Mr. Kishi . . . M.K. . . . as in Masashi Kishimotto!?" _

_The man nodded, a smile still on his face. Before he knew it, the ginger stomped toward him and slammed her hands on the desk. Kishimotto swore that she could have been an Uzumaki. _

"_You have _a lot_ of explaining to do. So start talking!" _

_Yep, definitely like an Uzumaki. Jordan did warn him about the family's infamous temper, inherent in the women of their family. _

_The principle chuckled to himself. "All right. First of all, I'm a friend of your godmother's."_

"_How the hell did she become friends with you and not brag about it!?" Hayley interrupted. _

_The man gave her a pointed look. "If you let me continue, I will tell you." Hayley huffed and sat down in one of the chairs. _

"_As I was saying, I'm a friend of Jordan's. She does know who I am and the situation. She didn't tell anyone because I asked her not too. She promised. You know that she never goes back on her promises." His eyes twinkled with delight at the thought that someone could be so much like a character he wrote about. _

"_She is so dead when I see her again." Hayley grumbled. Jordan was never going to hear the end of it when she got back home. "Okay, so since you two are friends, you let me come to this school?" _

"_That is correct. I knew it would be safe to let you come here because I knew you were just like Jordan. She talks about you nonstop." He chuckled when he thought back to Jordan bragging about her girl getting A's on tests and winning at sports games. _

_Hayley smiled at the thought of her guardian. Then a thought crossed her mind. _

"_So . . . want to tell me why all of the Naruto characters are hear." This time it was her turn to give the pointed look. _

"_That's for another time"_

_End Flashback:_

That's when he sent her on her way. Since the last period was over by the time the conversation was done, Hayley decided to go up to her dorm room. To her pleasant surprise, she roomed with Hinata. It turns out only Hinata didn't have a roommate and the other rooms were all full.

When she had stepped through the door, Hinata was in the kitchen making dinner. Hinata noticed she walked in and gave her a smile. The two ate dinner together and talked.

It was about two in the morning now and Hayley wasn't able to sleep. She sighed as she got up to head to the kitchen. _Maybe some tea will do me some good._ She thought.

She made it to the kitchen and put water in the tea pot to heat up. As she waited, she heard a door open. Hinata came out of her room, concern graced her features.

"Are you okay Hayley?" She asked.

Hayley gave her a tired smile. "I'm okay. Just couldn't sleep. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"It's all right." Hinata reassured her roommate. "It must have been a lot to take in today, moving to a new school and all." Hinata didn't even know half of it.

Hayley laughed. "Yeah, and I didn't exactly start out peacefully either." Hinata laughed along with her. It's true. Hayley she did make a big impression at this school.

When the laughter slowly died down, Hinata's facial expression became serious. "If you need anything at all, you can talk to us. After all you have done today for us strangers, we want to help you."

Hayley gave a huge grin. "Aw come on. We're not strangers! We're friends and that's just what friends do!"

Hinata smiled.

For the next few weeks, Hayley became accustomed to life at school. She became closer and closer to her new group of friends. There weren't many incidents between them and the group of bullies. Since Hayley arrived that first day, Naruto's confidence, as well as everyone else's in the group, grew. Apparently that stumped the other group. Hayley would hang out and goof around with her group of friends. It was especially fun in Jiraiya's class. Hayley loved English. It helped that Jiraiya's favorite students were Naruto and his friends, which he calls team ninja. Go figure.

Other teachers didn't like her very much. Tobi and Orichimaru had a vendetta against her, she just knew it! Orochimaru was blatant about it. He would pick on her every time he knew she didn't understand something. Tobi on the other hand, was much more subtle about it. It was the way he addressed her, not to mention the evil feeling he radiated every time she went near him. He seemed happy go lucky with the rest of the class but when it came to her or anyone from team ninja, there was some subtle hostility.

When it came to Psychology, Hayley tried to avoid any attention as much as possible. She sat in the back of the class, surrounded by her friends. Every time Itachi would look in their direction, she would duck behind Choji. She wanted it to look like she was avidly taking notes. The last thing she wanted was to make eye contact with that teacher.

She swore to herself she was not going to fall for anyone again. Yes, she was afraid to get hurt but she felt that her fear was justified after the _incident_. She thought she had locked all those kind of feelings away.

So far, Hayley had done a good job as avoiding the older Uchiha.

Until today.

"Hayley!" Caught off guard, Hayley's head shot up. This was the first time Itachi had called on her since the first day of class. The one day she was actually not paying attention is the one day he decided to call her out. Great.

"I would suggest not day dreaming in my class. I don't teach just to hear myself talk." Hayley shrank in her seat, trying to hide from Itachi's glare.

She looked down into her lap. "Sorry, Mr. Uchiha." was her mumbled apology. Her teacher nodded at her words then continued on with the lesson.

"He doesn't seem to be in a good mood." Hayley whispered.

"Well, what do you expect? The one student that seems to actually know a lot about this subject has been avoiding him for the past few weeks." Naruto replied in a hush tone. "Why?"

Naruto watched as Hayley continued to stare at her hands in her lap with a guilt ridden look on her face and . . . something else, an emotion he knew all too well himself. She never verbally gave him a reply but the way she acted was an answer good enough for him.

The next day at lunch, everyone noticed that Kiba was unnaturally silent. It threw the whole group off.

Hinata softly tapped the boy's shoulder, worry evident on her gentle face. "Kiba, are you okay?" She tenderly asked.

The poor boy sighed then looked up at his friends. "I'm failing English and Mr. J said that if I don't improve soon then I'm going to have to take the class again."

Kiba didn't know how to take the relieved expressions on his friends' faces.

"If you needed some help, why didn't you say so earlier?" Choji asked.

Kiba blushed faintly. "I was embarrassed and I didn't want to bother you guys with it." He pouted.

Naruto laughed. "Come on man! It's just us. We will always help you out." Naruto smacked his hand on the brunette's back.

Hayley put her fork down and leaned onto the table. "Listen" she started to say. "Ain't no mountain high, ain't no vally low, ain't no river wide enough"

Naruto, catching onto what Hayley was quoting, joined in saying, "If you need me, call me, no matter where you are, no matter how far."

"Don't worry!" Hayley chimed in.

"Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry." Naruto continued. "You don't have to worry."

By now, the group was either chuckling or giggling at their two friends. Naruto and Hayley, gave each other big grins then quickly pointed at Kiba.

To Kiba's horror and the rest of the group's enjoyment, Hayley and Naruto broke out into song.

'Cause baby, there ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough,

ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you, baby

They were just fooling around but for fooling around, they sounded good. Their voices naturally blended together, complimenting each other while creating a unique harmony. Yeah, they were good and by the end of the song, the whole room knew it.

Hayley and Naruto laughed once they were done and began eating again. Singing sure did make a person hungry.

"I can't believe you guys did that." Kiba, by now, had his head down with his arms over top, covering him.

The two merely laughed some more, high-fiving each other.

"Get used to it Kiba. Knowing those two, more of that will be coming." Shikimaru warned as he smirked at him.

"Thanks guys. Even though that was embarrassing, I got the message." Kiba grinned.

"Huh, Thank God they're done. I don't think I could handle any more of that screeching."

If Hayley got a penny for every time that . . . thing had to say some nasty comment, she would be a billionaire.

Hayley saw the hurt in Naruto's eyes, even though he was trying to hide it behind anger and annoyance. She was about to stand up and give that pink-haired banshee a piece of her mind when Shikamaru grabbed her arm.

"Don't. It's exactly what she wants." He warned her.

Hayley took a deep breath and nodded at him in understanding. The last thing she wanted was to make things worse.

"I mean, seriously, I think I broke an ear drum from that." Ino held onto her right ear. She was acting like she was in pain but it could be clearly seen that she was fool of crap.

"God! Who sings like that anyways!?" Sakura stood up and began to mimic Hayley, singing in the nastiest tone imaginable. Ino stood up to complete the duo by mimicking Naruto. By now, that entire group was laughing. Even the rest of the cafeteria was snickering.

Hayley looked up to see the hurt evident on Naruto's face. He wasn't trying to hide it any more.

_Dang it! Just when I was finally starting to get him comfortable to be himself in public . . . _With a new determination, Hayley marched her way towards the group of people she hated most at this school.

"She's going to do something stupid isn't she?" Choji asked.

"Crap!" Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru went after the red head on a rampage. Much to their surprise, instead of attacking, Hayley calmly got the girl's attention and did something no one expected.

"Why do you hurt him?" She gave them a level gaze, showing no emotions.

Ino and Sakura didn't know how to handle Hayley's calm attitude. So Sakura brushed it aside. "Why do you want to know?" She sneered.

Hayley was fed up with people hurting others. She was tired of bullies getting their way and making others suffer without any repercussions. She was tired of seeing Naruto get knocked down for no reason at all. She was used to being bullied so she convinced herself it didn't hurt so much but when it came to her friends getting hurt, she didn't like it. It frustrated her to no end.

"Because, the only way someone deserves the treatment that you give him is by doing some sort of act that had traumatized you. I was curious on how someone as kind and loving as Naruto Uzumaki could have hurt you that much." Again, Hayley showed no signs of emotion on her face.

The answer given to her made Hayley want to cry. She wanted to cry for Naruto, her sweet friend who had to put up with all of this, for her past self who had to go through the same treatment alone at her old school, and she wanted to cry for every other child who had been or is being bullied now.

"It's just fun."

Instead of crying, Hayley looked Sakura dead in the eyes and then to everyone else in the group. "I feel sorry for you if you think that making a person's life hell is fun." then gracefully walked away.

Everyone watched her go but no one followed. She walked all the way to the doors and out of the room. She continued to walk to the bathroom and shut herself in the biggest stall at the end of the row.

She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until she was sitting with her head in her hands. There, she cried. She let out all the emotions she was suppressing since she had arrived. She hated her past, hated how her new friends were treated, she hated not knowing why things were happening and she hated how her heart never learned from the first time it wanted to love someone.

With each tear that fell from her eyes more emotions flooded to the surface. More and more tears came as more emotions were let out from the depths of her heart. The flood gates were opened. She just had to let it all out now.

When she had calmed down, she exited the stall and washed her face with some water. She looked in the mirror to see her eyes slightly blood shot and her face flushed.

_Well, nothing I can do about that. I better get going before everyone gets too worried. _She thought as she walked out the door.

She was still deep in thought as she rounded a corner and bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled out, not looking up at the person in front of her.

"Hayley, what's wrong?"

That voice, she knew that voice. Only one person could make her want to melt just by saying her name.

She slowly looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw the look of concern and worry on Itachi's face.

"Hayley, tell me what happened. Why have you been crying?"

* * *

How was that!? I hope you are looking forward to the next chapter! Please review!


End file.
